Some foods are just meant to go together,they really are the best of friends, and boy oh boy do we love this little group of friends.
~A lot of what we eat is very Mediterranean inspired. The loveliest thing at the moment is that we can grow so much of it ourselves. The garlic is hung in the utility room now, and although my stringing of garlic is nowhere as aesthetically pleasing as my stringing of the onions, it has kept it in lovely condition.
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The crushed Chilli flakes are from last year, so simple to do, and so easy to toss into a dish to add that little bit of 'fire'. Before I start I need to nip to the polytunnel to pick todays tomatoes to add to the ones in the picture. They were all from yesterday, first thing this morning while I was watering I noticed lots of little flashes of red hidden amongst the branches.
Add a good handful of my lovely Basil, and everything will simply go in a roasting tin in the bottom oven of the Aga to slowly cook while I get on with other jobs. Once out it will all be decanted into sterilised jars as 'Roasted Tomato, Onion and Garlic Sauce' and be added to my growing stash of home preserved goodies in the kitchen cupboard. ~
It can be used in many ways, either with pasta, as a pizza topping, and a favourite way is watered down slightly and slow cooked with chicken pieces and brown rice in the oven. And for the real carnivores amongst you it tastes brilliant with meatballs, or poured over a steak (or so I've been reliably informed by Lovely Hubby).The taste of summer in a jar and a wonderful way to deal with gluts of ripe tomatoes. Never worry about adding a few green tomatoes if they have fallen off, this just seems to add a lovely 'tang' of flavour.
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No doubt one jar will be swiftly opened as tea time draws closer tonight, poured over a handful of brown pasta and served with a wedge of home made garlic bread .....ooh I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!!
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Have a tasty day!
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Sue xx
mmmmmmmmmm these are some of my favourite foods, I am really into goats cheese and pesto and roasted veg at the moment, I can smell your kitchen! I garlic easy to grow? Do you plant the cloves of a bulb you buy in the supermarket or do you have to buy different from a nursery?
ReplyDeleteHeather
how long does the sauce keep for??
ReplyDeletemm sounds delicious Sue! I think you should really give us the full recipe ;)
ReplyDeletexx
The recipe is simply the ingredients listed above, tomatoes, onions, garlic, dried chilli flakes (all to suit your own taste),simply put into a large roasting tin drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil sprinkle with a handful of basil leaves (and a bit of Rosemary works well too) and then left to roast slowly in a medium oven until everything is soft and yummy. Add another handful of Basil leaves right at the end of cooking to wilt in the heat of the tin.
ReplyDeleteDon't bother peeling the tomatoes or messing too much with the garlic it will all go lovely and mushy.
When its cooked you can bottle it as it is, or if you want a smoother sauce, whizz in a food processor or with a stick blender. If you want it perfectly smooth, simply pass it through a sieve. But I must say it's wonderful just all chunky straight from the oven.
If you bottle it in sterilised jars (I simply put mine in the bottom oven of the Aga for about 10 mins to do this) and put the tops on whilst both the sauce and the jars are hot, the tops will depress and form a vacuum, then it should keep indefinitely. We are still eating some from this time last year and it's perfect.
I hope this helps, sorry if it's not specific enough but I tend to be a bit of a throw it all in cook now!
Sue xx
roasted garlic, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, hard cheese ... these are a few of my favorite things!
ReplyDeleteSounds good! I'm hoping to make loads of jars this summer (hence the 50 tomato plants!) because we so enjoyed eating it through the winter.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of storing the sauce, especially love the tip I just read there on creating the preserving vacuum, will be making this for sure! Thanks for the great tips!
ReplyDeleteBH x
Certainly sounds like the taste of summer, I shall give this one a go. Did you dry you own chillies and if so, how? I have hundreds of them this year.
ReplyDeletethanks for the recipe Sue, you are inspiring me more and more with each post you do! X
ReplyDelete